Lyon have been charged with “insufficient organisation” of their supporters after crowd disturbances seriously delayed the start of Thursday’s 2-1 Europa League victory over Besiktas.

Tension between rival supporters in the east-central French city spilled into the Parc OL before the scheduled 2005 BST kick-off time, with a barrage of projectiles from the upper tiers forcing fans on to the pitch and casting the viability of the fixture into doubt.

The trouble eventually abated and the teams were able to start the game 45 minutes later than planned, with Lyon recovering to beat the Turkish champions 2-1 in the quarter-final’s first leg.

Supporters fight outside the stadium (Laurent Cipriani/AP)

President Jean-Michel Aulas and human resources manager Vincent Ponsot have blamed the visiting fans for the trouble but UEFA has not picked sides, citing both clubs for the presence of fireworks.

A statement from the governing body on Friday evening said disciplinary proceedings had been opened, with Lyon charged on the basis that fireworks were ignited, stairways were blocked, and that there was insufficient organisation regarding the segregation of supporters.

A further charge applied to fans invading the pitch after Lyon’s late winner, which was scored by Jeremy Morel, but not to the earlier incursions onto the field.

A fan climbs the goal as supporters invade the pitch

Besiktas were charged over the “setting off of fireworks”, the “throwing of objects” and “crowd disturbances”.

The date of the hearing of the UEFA control, ethics and disciplinary body is still to be determined.

Earlier, Lyon defender Christophe Jallet admitted he had been saddened by the disturbances.

A smoking canister is thrown on the pitch after Lyon's Corentin Tolisso scores (Laurent Cipriani/AP)

While previewing Sunday’s Ligue 1 trip to Bastia via Lyon’s official Twitter account, France right-back Jallet said: “We watched what happened with a lot of sadness. We spent the entire 45 minutes worrying and wondering if there would be a new kick-off time.

“We play football to experience strong emotions but not like those we felt yesterday. It was a real shame to witness such a commotion.”

Lyon president Aulas was also seen urging supporters to calm down and return to their seats but following full-time the 68-year-old claimed there had been no choice but to “flee”.

He told L’Equipe: “There were many who were wounded but who did not want to sit back down immediately because of pride.

“Because of the firecrackers, some had suffered severe injuries. There were a number of firecrackers that exploded over our fans’ heads so they had only one option, to flee onto the pitch.

“It was fortunate that they invaded it, otherwise they would have been trapped by the Turkish fans. It was a very difficult experience, but it was up to me to take responsibility, otherwise we would not have been able to play.”

Legal affairs representative Ponsot said on Twitter: “We were the victims of Turkish hooligans. The authorities dealt with what happened. The removal of the group who were throwing the projectiles helped calm things down.”